Mermaids
by CountrygalxHetalia
Summary: Mako and Bolin run into some serious trouble and Mako accidently end up in the harbor. Will his new found friend help him back to his brother?
1. Chapter 1

"I don't have anything that you want," the little firebender said, the sound echoing around the dark alleyway. His amber eyes flashed as he clenched his fists and moved to stand in front of his baby brother. The Triple Threat Triad member smirked and stalked closer to the two boys.

"Of course you don't," he said and bent down so he was face to face with Mako. "That's why I'm just gonna chunk you into the bay." The man's breath smelled of tobacco and alcohol as he breathed heavily in the children's faces. He grabbed the front of Mako's overly big jacket, gripping his scarf in the process, and lifted him easily off the ground.

"Bolin!" Mako threw his head around, looking for his brother. He saw the tiny earthbender cowering in the shadow of the towering triad member. "Run!" he shouted. The small boy looked nervously between his brother, dangling a good three to four feet in the air, and the man holding him there. "Run, Bo!" The little boy obeyed this time and took off in the opposite direction down the alley they had been hiding in. He didn't know where he was running; he just knew he had to run away. But… what about Mako? He couldn't just leave his brother behind.

"I didn't want the earthbender, just you and your smart mouth," the man drawled. Mako ignored him as he kept jerking around; making sure Bolin had gotten away. The triad shook the small firebender roughly, making him look at him. "You listen to me, kid," he brought his face closer to Mako's almost making their noses touch. "I'm Two-Toed Ping, and you know what? _Nobody_ messes with Two-Toed Ping." He smirked as he threw the child to the ground. Mako squeezed his eyes shut anticipating the impact as his flew through the air. He hit the concrete. Hard. All the air left his lungs in one big 'whoosh'. He groaned and opened his eyes blearily. Everything was blurry as he watched the man walk up to him. As his vision cleared, he saw Two-Toed Ping in front of him, but behind him… Bolin was crouching at the edge of the alley, the moonlight shining on his small, round face. Mako tried to push himself up on his arms, but winced and fell back on his face. Pain shot through his arm, and he clutched at it. He prayed to the spirits that it wasn't broken. The triad firebender grabbed the small boy by the clothes at the scruff of his neck and yanked him to his feet.

"Ready to go for a midnight swim?" Two-Toed Ping asked him as his dragged him to the edge of the pier. Mako fought him with his good arm until the man lifted him into the air again. His feet were set against the railing. The thin metal bars that were supposed to keep people from going over the edge weren't going to be any help while he was standing on top of them.

"Lemme go!" Mako yelled. Two-Toed Ping knocked him in the back of the head, making him see stars. He shook his head and looked down frantically. The water was dark and unforgiving. He gulped, scared of being thrown into the undulating water. He and Bolin had never been taught to swim. He knew if this triad member kept his word and chunked him in, he would drown. He thought of Bolin then, small, tiny, helpless Bolin. What would his little brother do? He was young and as innocent as could be. Mako had tried to keep the horrors of the world at bay, to keep them from getting to the boy. What would Bolin do if Mako died tonight? He struggled and squirmed, trying to loosen the grip on his shirt.

"Let my brudder go! You big meanie!" Both heads whipped around to see Bolin, fists in the air, threatening to earthbend Ping.

"Ha! You actually think you have a chance? Against me?!" he scoffed at the young earthbender. Bolin's bright, green eyes gleamed, and he stomped his foot. He sent a miniature quake through the ground, and a small hill erupted underneath the triad's feet. He stepped backwards, and his fingers loosened from around Mako's collar as he lost his balance. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The fabric slipped from Ping's fingers, and Mako fell forward. He tried to turn and grab Two-Toed Ping's wrist, but missed by less than an inch. Bolin's eyes widened in terror as he watched his brother, his protector, disappear over the edge. He stared for a moment before shakily lifting a large rock and hitting Ping in the head with it. The triad firebender fell to the ground, and Bolin rushed to the railing in a vain attempt to find his brother. The firebender already knew what was coming. He took a deep breath and hit the water with a resounding 'smack'. The impact dazed him, knocking him almost unconscious. The cold sucked the air from him, freezing him to the bone. He tried flailing for a moment, kicking and swinging his arms, ignoring the pain in his limbs, to try to float back up. His lungs began to burn, needing oxygen that wasn't there. He looked up to the surface of the water and saw the moonlight shining through. That might be the last thing he ever saw.

As he began closing his eyes, water starting to fill his lungs, drowning him, he saw something. Something that was swimming towards him, something that had a human torso and a… and a fish tail. Now he knew he was dying. He had to be to be seeing this strange hybrid. The creature swam towards him hesitantly, slowly reaching out a hand to touch his face. As the very tip of her finger made contact with his cheek, air rushed back into his lungs. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He was alive? He hadn't drowned? He was breathing again, yet he was still underwater. He looked around and saw the fish thing he'd thought he'd been imagining.

As he looked her over, he realized she had to have been right around his age, six or seven, no older than eight. Her skin was a light, youthful bronze. Her dark brown hair was held back in a ponytail by a delicate looking hair piece and then two smaller ones beside her face. She had bright, cerulean blue eyes, and she was wearing a blue top that changed shades as she swam. It was long enough to cover her, but short enough to show her belly button. As he looked down, he saw her tail. It was a beautiful shade of ocean blue. She grinned at him and giggled. She was missing her left front tooth.

"Hi," she laughed as she spoke. It was a sweet, graceful sound. Mako blinked before a small smile tugged at his lips.

"Hello," he replied. She smiled and giggled again. He quirked an eyebrow. "Um, what are you?" he asked.

"I'm a mermaid!" she cried and flipped backwards, doing several underwater cartwheels. Mako stared in awe. She was kinda sorta cute, maybe even pretty. She grabbed his arm, intending to drag him off somewhere, but he hissed in pain and jerked away. Her bright eyes clouded over with concern. "What… what's wrong?" she inquired. He cradled his arm against his chest and bit his lip as he waited for the pain to ebb away. He took a shaky breathe and looked at her.

"B-before I fell down here… I uh… I got into a fight and something happened to my arm," the small firebender confessed. Her eyes widened in realization. She reached out half way for his arm.

"I can heal that if you want," she told him, swimming closer and stared into his bright orche eyes. He gave her a disbelieving look.

"You can?" he asked. She nodded and held out her hand for his arm. He stuck it out, and the girl gently grabbed it. She placed her hand over the injured area, and her hand turned blue. No, not her hand, the water around her hand. It glowed bright blue and moved with her hand as she gently rubbed his arm. She pulled away after a few moments, the water returning to its original color.

"How is it?" she asked him. He stretched it and bent it back and forth. It worked perfectly.

"It's amazing! Thank you!" He smiled at her.

"You're welcome." She grinned her sweet, toothy smiled. Her eyes widened, and her grin faded. She tilted her head as if trying to listen to something. She nodded and looked at the young boy. "I have to go now. I had a lot of fun." She began to swim away, but he threw his arm out.

"Wait!" he called, "could you help me get back up to the surface? I… I can't swim," he mumbled embarrassed. She giggled again and smirked.

"If you can't swim, then why did you get in?" she asked as she swam back and gripped his arm.

"I told you! I fell in!" he said defensively. She chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you say, city boy." She smiled and began swimming up quickly. Mako didn't realize how far under they were. They made it to the surface, and their heads bobbed along with the water.

"Thank you," he told her, looking around tiredly.

"No problem," she replied. He looked up and realized just how far from the pier he was. The girl followed his gaze and smirked. "Come here." She wrapped an arm around his waist and closed her eyes. "Hang on tight," she instructed. He looked at her like she was crazy before clutching to her arm. She concentrated solely on the water around her, and they were shooting into the air on a geyser of water. Mako's eyes widen and then slammed shut as he flew upward toward land. The mermaid opened her eyes and maneuvered them over to the wood. "Here you are," she told him with a smile. He jumped off onto the dock and turned back around.

"Thank you for everything," he told her, leaning over the railing and nearly falling back in the dark water again. The girl looked conflicted for a moment before she leaned in and kissed him quickly on the cheek. Mako blushed the color of his crimson scarf.

"You're welcome," she whispered. She winked and dove backwards into the water.

"Wait!" Mako yelled, "I don't know your… name." He sighed and turned around. "Oh well… I guess I need to go find Bolin." He stopped. Bolin! His brother's bright, emerald eyes flashed through his mind. He'd totally forgotten about his baby brother. He has no clue how long he'd been down there, or what had happened to his brother.

"Bolin!" he cried out, "Bo! Where are you!?" The boy began running around, searching every nook and cranny. He ran past a dark alleyway and heard someone sniffling. He lit a tiny flame in his hand and tip toed forward. "Bolin?" The crying stopped and someone looked up.

"M-Mako?" Luminous jade eyes reflected the fire in his palm.

"Bolin!" Mako rushed forward and enveloped the boy in a hug, crushing him.

"Mako!" the earthbender cried, relieved. "I-I-I thought y-you'd drowneded," he blubbered into his brother's scarf. Mako gently rubbed Bolin's back, muttering soothing nonsense into his ear.

"Shh, Bo. It's okay. It's all okay, Bo" He pulled back and put his hands on the boy's shoulders. The earthbender's eyes shined with tears. "I'm here now, everything's gonna be alright now," he reassured the shaking child. He nodded as he stared into Mako's orche eyes.

"O-okay," he mumbled. The firebender wrapped an arm around his little brother's shoulders and sat down on the ground, pulling him into his lap.

"We'll just hunker down here for the night, okay?" he told Bolin. The small boy nestled himself comfortably into his brother's arms and nodded.

"Mako," he said with a yawn, "how did you get back?" Mako blinked, surprised by the question, before messing up Bolin's hair.

"You know, Bo. I really have no clue," he whispered. He thought of the young 'mermaid'. He owed her his life. "I have absolutely no clue."


	2. Chapter 2

_She swam slowly closer, reaching out to touch his cheek_… BAM! Mako shot up from the chair he was lounging in. He looked around to see what had woken him. He saw one of his large, leather bound books on the floor of the ship. He stood up and almost fell back in his chair because of the waves crashing into and rocking the ship. There must have been one heck of a storm brewing outside.

He walked over and picked up the book and opened it to a page at random. The picture it opened to was beautiful, elegant mermaid. She had a long, silvery blue tail with dark, flowing hair. Her eyes shined and she wore an intricate top of some kind to cover her. Mako placed a thin finger against the side if the picture and sighed. Mermaids weren't real; they were mythical creatures that sailors had made up. _But you saw one with your eyes. You were dreaming… there was no way that was real._ He was fighting a mental battle and losing miserably.

"Mako! Get up here quick and help with these sails!" The firebender jumped and looked to the wooden boards above him.

"Coming!" he called. He shut the heavy book, placed it back on the shelf, and ran up the stairs to the deck. He pushed against the door that led outside, but it would open. He checked the locks, but it hadn't been latched closed. The wind was the only force keeping the door shut. He keep banging and pushing on it, before finally rushing the door and slamming his shoulder into it, making it slam open.

The wind was howling in his ears and the spray from the ocean stung his eyes. He tried to shield his face as he looked around. The waterbenders were at the edge of the ship, trying to tame the massive waves, but the ocean was too strong.

"Mako!" He looked around and saw the captain stumbling his way across the deck through the storm. "We need your help!"

"What is it?" the nineteen year-old sailor asked hurriedly and looked up in the direction the captain pointed.

"We need you to go up and help furl the sails. All of our best our up there except you, and none of them have your skill or agility!" The captain shouted in his ear. Mako put a grim look on his face and nodded.

"Yes sir!" he said. He took off suddenly towards the mast. He snatched one of the ropes that was flying around the tall pole and held it steady. He planted his feet firmly on the mast and began climbing. Halfway up, the wind picked up and rain started to pour and it knocked Mako's feet away from the pole. He gripped the rope tightly; pray that the material held out until he was at the crow's nest. He watched as he was thrown around, the storm around him only a blur. He looked up through the rain splattering against his face, and began climbing the rope, knowing he had to get to the top.

He finally made it to the crow's nest. Four of his fellow crewmates were huddles together; three firebenders and an earthbender. They all jumped to their feet when they saw Mako.

"Sir!" One of the firebender's cried. Mako sighed waved off there excuses.

"Come on, men," he ordered, "we have to furl the sails." The earthbender nodded and grabbed a huge bundle of ropes that was secured to the railing of the crow's nest. He handed then out to everyone but found they were short one. Mako refused when they offered their ropes to him.

"Tie them around your waist and get those sails up. I'll be fine," he assured them and jumped out of the nest. He ran along the sail before coming to the first rope. The men stared at him for a moment, stunned. They came out of there stupor as thunder roared in their ears and took off along both sides of the sail and pulling up ropes. They went from rope to rope, pulling the main sail up. Mako ran to the end of the sail and began tugging at the thick rope. As he finally pulled up and tied it off, lightning struck. It hit the very top of the mast and the crow's nest exploded. The wood flew through the air and tore at Mako's clothes, ripping huge holes in shirt and trousers.

A large piece struck Mako in the back of the head making him see black spots. His feet slipped and he fell off the pole. He gripped at the fabric of the sail desperately, trying to keep his from closing. All the crew stared at him as he clung to the sail, trying to climb back up. Mako could see the lightning forming through the harsh rain and black clouds. He knew what would happen before the crew did. The flash of electricity hit the sail where the firebender was hanging on and it shattered, and Mako was thrown backwards into the air.

Memories came rushing back as he fell towards the ocean. A Triples Threat Triad member holding him above the water, feeling the cold sap the energy from him, watching through a thick haze as something swam towards him…

His back hit the water and everything went silent. The sounds of the storm were blocked under the water. Pain filled his senses, it bubbled at the back of his head and a burning sensation radiated off his entire back. He opened his eyes and saw a big fish swimming towards him. He looked closer and knew this was no half fish, half human. This was a shark; an enormous man-eating fish that could bite him two in less than a second. He remembered that they usually attacked and fed on anything that was bleeding, so thank goodness… he wasn't…

He felt the back of his head, remembering the wood making impact with his skull. He fingered the spot that was stinging on the back of his skull. He brought his fingers away from his scalp and looked at them. The water made his vision blurry, but he could make out the trail of red on his fingers. His lungs began to protest at the lack of air. He watched as the shark swam closer. He slowly put his arms above his head and began trying to swim slowly to the surface. He kicked his legs gently, trying to not attract attention to his actions. The shark stopped and Mako turned around and saw three more massive sharks swimming at him. Panic clouded his brain and he took off towards what he hoped was the top of the ocean. The sharks sensed the movement and lunged forward. He wasn't going to make it. He'd either drown or become a shark's midnight snack. His eyes were closing and his movements becoming sluggish when he heard a loud hissing sound, almost like when his brother's Fire Ferret was upset. He tried to lift his head and look around. He saw something speeding through the water, viciously attacking the sharks and sending them on their way. It couldn't be… he had to be dreaming.

The mermaid swam over to him quickly and placed a light hand on his chest. The once familiar sensation of air rushing in and filling his lungs was a relief. He opened his eyes fully, taking in the dark ocean around him before meeting a pair of bright, beautiful eyes. Her tail was flicking back and forth nervously as she looked at him, watching him with menacing stare. He stared at her, completely dumbstruck by her beauty. She had dark, olive skin that seemed to glow under the water. Her long, sable hair was held back by a small circular piece. Two smaller ponytails were placed beside her head, in front of her ears, also held in place by more hair pieces. She had on a light blue wrap around her chest and a small brown purse wrapped around the section of her waist where her torso met her tail. Her tail was a stunning and beautiful shade of dark aquamarine with hints and swirls of silver.

"Do… do I know you?" he asked her. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. His black, spikey hair flowed around his face and his eyes… His bright amber eyes seemed to shine in the dark. Those eyes seemed _so_ familiar. A vague memory tucked away, deep in the forbidden corners of her mind.

Saving a little boy by the City. Healing a broken arm, wanting to stay for hours and play with him.

"C-city Boy?!" Her eyes widened and her tail immediately stilled. "Are… are you the little boy I saved by the bay that night all those years ago?" she asked, her voice barely rising above a whisper. Mako's eyes brightened with sudden recognition.

"You! You're the one that saved me!" he cried. He moved as if to swim forward, but stopped and clutched his head as he began to sink. He'd completely forgotten about the back of his head. As long as he was still, he was fine, but the moment he moved, he could do anything. The mermaid swam forward and grabbed his arms, holding him. He was extremely dizzy and everything had a fuzzy around it.

"Wha… what's wrongs?" she asked worriedly.

"My head," he mumbled tiredly. She swam around behind him and inhaled sharply. The wound was shallow, but wide, and bleeding profusely. "That bad, huh?" he asked with a chuckle. She looked at him with her eyebrows scrunched together.

"This isn't funny. It's serious," she told him sternly. She reached her fingers into the small pouch at her hip and brought out a shimmery goop on her fingertips. He felt her fingers touch his head. "This might sting." The water around her fingers glowed a brilliant blue as she trailed them down the long gash. He gasped as pain erupted from his skull.

"Ow! Ow, ow, owwww!" he screamed and tried to swim away. She rolled her eyes and yanked him back.

"Hold still! I'm almost done!" she said. "I've known little ones to get worse injuries than this and handle it better than you can." He sat as still as he could, biting his lip so hard he drew blood. "You know, I still don't know your name," she said gently.

"Mako," he replied through his teeth. "What about you?" He felt as her fingers left his scalp and he turned to her.

"Korra," she smiled. She was still just as beautiful as she was when she was little.

"It's a lovely name," he told her. Her cheeks flushed a light pink as she looked at him through her dark lashes.

"Thank you," she laughed and did a few backflips. She giggled as she swam back to him. "Sorry, I get kinda… " She trailed off as she noticed the rest of his body.

Scraps and cuts littered the length of his arms and legs. There were long tears in his clothes and he was missing a shoe. She also noticed another long cut on his side.

"How much trouble can one person get into?" She asked him, moving and starting to heal the more minor injuries.

"There's a storm brewing on the surface." He informed her. "That's kinda how I got down here. I was tying up a sail and lightning struck. I was thrown off the ship into the water." She looked at him as she finished with the scraps.

"And you still can't swim?" She smirked at him as her hands glowed around the cut on his side. He glared down at her.

"I landed on my back and I had sharks surrounding me! I tried to swim up, but you intervened," he said indignantly. Korra laughed as she pulled her hands away.

"Alright, alright. I get it." She said, smiling. She looked him up and down, checking for any more injuries. She spied the spot where he'd bit his lip.

"How'd you?" she asked, pointing at his bleeding lower lip.

"I bit down while you were healing my head," he said before she could finish. She smiled and rolled her eyes again.

"Come here," she said gently. She cupped his face and placed her thumb gently on his lip. She tried no to stare as she healed his lip. Every time she made eye contact she blushed furiously. Mako, however, watched her, mesmerized. He couldn't get over how dazzling beautiful she was. He hadn't been dreaming about a fantasy all these years. As the bright blue faded, Korra began to pull her hand away, but Mako grabbed it and held it to his cheek. It was his turn to blush.

"S-sorry," he stuttered, removing his hand. Korra's eyes widened ever-so-slightly. She didn't remove her hand but let it lay against his cheek.

"It's… it's okay," she whispered. Something was twisting in her stomach. She wasn't sick. This was something she'd never felt before. She thought it over before concluding that it must have been her nerves getting to her. She couldn't stop blushing, she was grinning like a little girl, and her stomach just wouldn't settle down. She had never felt like this before. Not during her initiation into her tribe, not even around the boys she's grown up with. She'd seen girls flirt and talk about how a certain guy would put butterflies in their stomachs, but she'd never felt like that. Not once around any of the guys, she never even looked twice at the guys she knew. There was always someone else on her mind. Ever since she had saved the boy in the water, she couldn't get him out of her head. "I-I… uh," she stuttered. Mako just couldn't wait any longer. He pushed himself forward and kissed her. Korra's eyes widened as he pressed his mouth against hers. She wasn't sure what he was doing, but it was… good. She felt fire burn from her lips down to the pit of her stomach. Mako went to deepen the kiss, but Korra pulled away. She gasped as she pulled back, sucking air into her lungs.

"What… was that?" she asked. Her lips still tingled and her stomach was in more knots than ever, and she liked it. She wanted more.

"A kiss," he told her, scrunching his eyebrows together. "Don't people kiss down here?" he asked.

"We procreate. I guess this 'kissing' is involved, but it's not something I've experienced. It's nothing people talk about." she informed him.

"Oh," he said softly. She nodded and raised her hand. She paused, wanting to talk, but not knowing what to say. "I guess I should be going back. My crew'll be worried if I don't. They probably think I'm dead by now." He spoke regretfully. Her face fell slightly as he spoke. He saw and cupped her face gently with his hands and stared into her bright, ocean eyes. He didn't want to leave her. He wanted to stay, but he didn't belong here. "Is there any way you'd be willing to help me find them?" he asked her. He saw the ghost of a smirk appear on her lips.

"You're still just as helpless aren't you?" she teased playfully as she grabbed his hands, suppressing tears. He opened his mouth to retort, but she kissed his cheek, successfully silencing. "Sit still for just a moment," she instructed. She swam away from him and closed her eyes. She brought her hands together in front of her. The bottom of her tail twitched as she separated her palms. She brought them back together with a loud, single clap. To Mako, it was ordinary noise, but to Korra, it was a three dimensional map of everything below and on the surface of the water for a five mile radius. She saw a ship bobbing on the water about two and half miles out, being thrown around violently by a terrible storm. Her eyes opened and everything was gone. "I can see your ship, and it would take a while to get there by just swimming so I'll have to call some friends," she said. She put her thumb and middle finger to her mouth and blew. A loud, shrill whistle and a huge cloud of bubbles erupted from her lips. She pulled her fingers away from her mouth and grinned at him.

"And that was… what?" Mako asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Just wait," she told him. He looked at her, skeptical, but shrugged it off. After a few anxious minutes, they heard a strange clicking sound. Mako looked around and spotted two large fish swimming towards them. He began to try to back pedal underwater, believing them to be sharks. "Calm down, Cool Guy. They don't bite." Korra put a hand on his shoulder. As the animals swam closer, he realized they weren't terrifying, man-eating sharks. They were slightly smaller and their tales flipped a different way.

"What… what are those?" he asked curiously. Korra giggled as one of the creatures, white as the purest snow, came and swam around her playfully.

"They're dolphins. The sweetest undersea creature you could ever meet." She petted hers lightly on the nose. "They're as gentle as can be. Go on and pet yours." The firebender hesitantly stuck out his hand. The dolphin swimming next to him sniffed it. The mermaid nodded, urging it to rub his hand. The dolphin nudged his hand with its' nose, making a gentle cackling sounds. Mako grinned and rubbed it's head. "We have to use them to get to your ship." She told him as she gripped her dolphin's dorsal fin.

"Why is yours white? Mine's blue, and from what I've heard from other sailors, their usually a bluish color, not white." he asked. Korra looked at her dolphin and grinned.

"Naga's special." she said as she petted the animal on the head. "I rescued her not to long after I saved you. She'd been attacked by a couple of older dolphins and was terribly hurt. I brought her home and my people fixed her up and she took a liking to me. She's been my best friend ever since I can remember. I'm not sure why she's white. I think she must have been born that way. It just makes her that much more special." Korra grinned and kissed Naga gently on her fin. "If you want your dolphin to go faster, just say yip yip." she told him. She made a series of sounds similar to the ones to dolphin's had made. She smiled at him before patting Naga on the side. "Alright girl, yip yip," and she took off into the ocean. Mako followed, urging his ride to keep up with the mermaid.

The ride wasn't too long. Every now and then Korra would talk to the dolphin and they eventually made it. The dolphins swam upward and Mako could see the bottom of him ship.

"There it is!" he cried and pointed towards the hull of the ship. Korra nodded and let go of Naga.

"Thank you, girl," she told it and hugged it around it's neck. She pulled back and rubbed Mako's on the head. "You too." Both animals flipped backwards, clicking their response before swimming off. "Come on, City Boy, time to go back." She gently grabbed his arms and began swimming up towards the ship. He kept opening and closing his mouth, wanting to tell her something, but forgetting every time he opened his mouth.

They reached the bottom of the ship and Korra stopped. She let go of his arm and looked down nervously. Mako stared at her, his heart aching for the both of them. Spirits, he didn't want to leave her, especially like this.

"Will I ever-" he was silenced as Korra pressed her lips against his. He felt how cool they were in comparison to his own. He sighed against her mouth and closed his eyes. She was only making this harder. She finally pulled away, her eyes somewhat red. "Are you alright?" he asked, knowing full well that she was dying on the inside. She nodded and wiped her eyes. Her tears sparkled as they fell, before turning into part of the ocean. Mako pulled her close into a hug. He squeezed her, not wanting to let go.

"Will I ever see you again?" he whispered into her hair. She sniffled and pulled back, looking into his amber eyes.

"Here," she said softly. She swirled her hands in front of her and the water started glowing. "If you ever want to see me," the water turned into an orb around the size of a golf ball, "press you lips to this." She grabbed the orb and placed it gently into his hands.

It was a dark blue, but pulsated a bright sky blue from within. Mako's fingers closed around it and he put it in pocket.

"We'll see each other soon, I swear." Mako told her. She nodded and grabbed his hand. He smiled and kissed her cheek. "I promise, Korra." She grinned back and nodded.

"I'll see ya soon." Mako sighed and began swimming up. His head broke the surface and he saw the storm had pass, leaving only stars and a full moon.

"Guys! Captain!" he called out. He prayed that someone would hear him. He saw someone look over the railing at him. "Down here!" He waved his arms, making sure he could be seen. The crewmate retreated and he could hear people yelling for the captain.

"Mako!" The sailor saw at least five more head pop over the side of the ship.

"Down here, sir!" he called. A rope landed in the water next to him.

"Grab ahold of this and we'll haul you up!" The captain hollered down. Mako gripped the rope and tugged on it. The men began pulling him the side of the ship. The firebender looked back one last time and saw a pair of piercing, ice blue eyes shimmering above the dark water. She disappeared the moment he was over the railing. Everyone was staring at him in awe.

"How in the world? You were down there for at least an hour, prob'ly longer! How did you survive?" Tahno, one of his fellow crewman, asked.

"I… I don't know. All I remember is falling in the water and going unconscious, and then waking up on the water and seeing the ship," he told them softly as the deck became more and more crowded. He was lying because he had to keep Korra and her people safe, and if he did tell the truth, most of the crew wouldn't believe him anyways.

"I bet it was one of them mermaids!" Someone yelled from the back.

"Mermaids ain't real!" Somebody else cried. Grumbled and complaints broke out amongst the men but the captain silenced them.

"Hush! You boys can all settle your arguments in the morning, but for right now, we're just glad to have Mako back with us." He waved them all off and wrapped an arm around the young boy's shoulders. "Come on, son. Let's get ya into some dry clothes, some warm food in ya belly, and then we'll talk, alright?" Mako nodded as he walked into his quarters.

"Yes sir," he replied and walked to his bed. He hadn't even realized it, but his clothes were soaked. He got to his bed and began peeling off the wet clothes. He stripped down and pulled on his dry garments. He decided on his warm pajama bottoms and his ratty old tank top. He sat down and lay on his back, completely forgetting about the talk with the captain. This all felt like a fantasy, like he wasn't supposed to be here at all. Maybe he could see her, just one more time.

"He reached down for the sodden pants he'd taken off, and dug his hands into the pockets, searching for the ball that Korra'd given him. As he explored the pockets, he found a hole in one, the exact one he'd placed the orb in. It was the perfect size for the small ball to slip through. He sighed and tossed his trousers to the ground, frustrated at himself for not seeing it beforehand. He would miss her. He turned over and wrapped his blankets around himself. He closed his eyes and let a single tears escape.

"Good bye," he whispered into the darkness before falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Korra watched, clear, sparkling tears trailing down her cheeks. She held the orb she'd created for him in her hand. She had watched as it fell from his pocket as he was raised onto his ship.

"I love you," she whispered as she watched him disappear.


End file.
